Are you still holding out, not yet ready to jump on the social media band-wagon? If so, your company will suffer the consequences of not evolving with the times. The consensus is in – Social Media is not a fad. Organizations must get onboard with this new resource or give your competitors the upper hand. As the job market begins to open up, the search for qualified talent now requires social networking to build and maintain a talent pipeline and recruit the right hires, while cutting back spending.
The Social Media Plus Business Summit held yesterday in Philadelphia provided a slew of sessions led by some of the brightest accomplished professionals (and fave bloggers) in social media today. Human Capital Solutions, LLC put together this summit covering all of the questions and concerns that most companies have about social media in the areas of Sales & Marketing, IT, Executive, and HR.
Technology is constantly changing the way we do things in business and in our personal lives, so we must learn to stay current and move forward. Floating from session to session, the message was clear: Social Media is a requirement for business today, and in networking online, we should be customer service focused.
Echoing in most presentations were Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a number of other outlets we should be using to connect and build a rapport with our employees, with possible candidates, and to invite the world to “get to know us.” A lot of us may have begun to acquire a page or 2 or 3 of these networking tools and simply need to know where to go from there. Well, here are the must haves/dos you may be missing:
- It’s everybody’s responsibility! Social Media should be in sync throughout all departments. It’s about customer service – find out about your audience and what they’re doing, and strategize to achieve your established goal.
- Educate your employees! You must incorporate a company-wide Social Media Policy. Keep it simple and accessible (put it on your “About Us” page). Your policy should be clear and concise, spelling out these guidelines for all to understand. Make it clear that these guidelines are for this new media, and that all other policies still stand.
- Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn top the list of the main sites your company should have a presence on for social networking. Your pages should be kept up to date with a strong profile, and current status. Your page should display a more personal understanding of your company leaders, employees, and culture.
- A Facebook Page specific to Careers is a must. This should be separate from your main company page created by Marketing.
- Enable your employees to be company advocates. Blocking social media access is a costly exercise that doesn’t work. Most have internet ready phones and are prepared to use them. LOL! Recent studies showed that employees with access were more productive. Get senior management onboard and remember that employees are your best Brand Ambassadors.
- Social Media is Interactive! Are you blogging/commenting/discussing online? We need to share conversations with fans, followers, employees, candidates, and industry groups. If any HR employees are bloggers, it’s a great idea to add links to their relevant posts. You must do more than just push out jobs.
- Here’s a great idea that some companies have taken to….. Certify/Reward your social media advocates! This is a chance for employees to shine, connect with the company, contribute, and refer. Acknowledge and Reward those who add to your efforts- building morale, increasing the talent community, and sharing the fun part of your workplace.
- Video Sharing- a fresher step to engaging your fans & followers is to implement your videos on your network pages. We are a visual society. Start a Careers Channel on You Tube and personalize your company leaders; demonstrate “why to work here”. Video interviews with hiring managers for positions was a repeated suggestion.
- There should be a Dashboard in place to monitor your activity and track your traffic. A common contact is crucial to the reporting of more accurate metrics. (I refer you to one of my earlier posts – “Metrics. Could you be sabotaging the measurements that may help productivity and ROI?”
- Are you watching your community page? There are a number of tools out there designed to aid you in monitoring what’s being said in your industry and about your company. Utilize the available tools to collect RSS feeds for real-time updates on industry discussions and any mention of your company. This could be as simple as setting up a Google Alert with your company name as the search term.
If you’re lacking in any of these areas and need a helping hand, contact your Account Executive at Alstin for consultation. As social media evolves with each passing day, there will be more ideas and best practices on the way for your recruitment efforts. Check back in with our blog regularly, and stay on top for your next move!
